Slipping Through My Fingers

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter 15

Rosalie's POV -

"Rose, I'm sure you don't look skimpy at all!" Chloe shouted through the door. "You'll look like a nun compared to us, just come out!"

I never wanted to leave the bedroom. Once Nate had gone swimming, the boys had everything packed in the beach house in a flash and were in the water within fifteen minutes. The girls had gone to put their bikini's on while I went to find something wearable for the beach.

I've only really been swimming twice. And they were both school carnivals. With my busy schedule and more-important-things-to-do attitude, I've just never had the time to go swimming. Hence the fact that I had no bikini.

I had a pair of board shorts that I bought a few days ago with intentions of wearing tights underneath but idiotic me forgot to bring a pair so I was stuck with a pair of pink mini board shorts, bikini bra and a black singlet. I didn't know how much skin was exposed until I looked in the full length mirror. Which brings me back to...

"Rose, get the hell out of the room now!" Cam yelled.

Yep, so after seeing how much skin was exposed, I rummaged through my bag to see if I had anything else but unfortunately, I didn't. So I told the girls I didn't want to come out because of my outfit and they refused to leave without me.

"But I look like a slut!" I groaned in frustration.

"Gee, thanks Rose. I'm sure when you see us you'll call us prostitutes." Cam commented dryly.

I felt a twinge of guilt course through me and of course at that, I finally opened the door. The girls just snickered in my direction and rolled their eyes when they saw what I was wearing.

"Slut? Really? That's basically what I wear all the time. Are you saying I always look like a slut?" Chloe asked, daring me to say otherwise.

"We're just different." I muttered, staring at my fidgeting fingers.

"Why? Because we're rich while you're raising three boys on your own?" Chloe asked, a frown fleeting on her face.

How did they know about me being on my own?!

"Where did you get that idea from?" I murmured.

"Sorry, Rose, I'm just in a crappy mood because of the bastard, Asher. And Adam let it slip yesterday." Chloe smiled slightly.

"That's okay." I smiled in reply. "Wait - when were you talking to Adam?"

Her face automatically went up in flames like mine usually would and her eyes widened a fraction. Her expression seemed similar to how I would react when someone brought up Nate. Did Chloe have a crush on Adam? But she couldn't! Adam has Holly and Chloe has Asher!

"Can we leave now? I have the towels, the sunnies and the sun block. And plus, the longer I stand here, the less time I don't get to see Chris shirtless." Cam said in a rush, grabbing the beach bag and running out the door.

That left Chloe and I standing awkwardly in the middle of the lounge room, me wondering about her and Adam and her looking everywhere but me.

"Chloe-" I began, but she cut me off.

"Please don't tell Asher." She said quickly, her eyes filling up with tears and regret.

"Wait, so are you and Adam together?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

"Oh, God, no. I wouldn't exactly cheat on him like that. But, Adam and I have been spending a lot of time together and I think I really like him." She smiled longingly and I couldn't help but compare our smiles with every time I spoke about Nate.

"But how? Adam spends most of his time with me, when do you guys spend time together? And plus, he's twenty-two." I felt kind of numb at the thought of my best friend and an older brotherly figure dating.

"During my free periods, at night, a couple of hours here and there on the weekends." She shrugged. "And I don't care about age. It's only four years, what's that in ten years' time?"

"Ten years?" I choked, my eyes widening. "You plan on being with him in ten years?"

"Rose?" Chloe whispered.

"Yeah?" I asked, my knees wobbling a little.

"I lied earlier." She responded.

I sat down on the couch, waiting for her to take a seat next to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a small frown on my face.

"I did cheat on Asher." She murmured, the tears remaining only in her eyes.

"When?" I whispered. "Why?"

One tear leaked out from the corner of her eye as she shrugged.

"It was a couple of weeks ago. I didn't show up to school because Asher had a day off of college but then he called and said he had last minute plans. So, I went to the park where Adam drove past and he saw me and stopped. We got to talking and then on impulse, we just... We kissed. It only lasted for a few seconds and since then, we've been spending more and more time together. Just talking." She said.

My shock for this sudden turn of events made my reaction to be anything but how I should have reacted.

"Okay then, let's go to the beach." I suddenly felt chirpy.

"Ha?" Chloe asked, confusion

"The beach." I emphasised and when she still looked confused, I continued on. "You know that landform along the ocean? Heaps of sand is always there, usually water, scary animals?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at me and smiled lightly.

"You are spending way too much time with Nate." She muttered and walked passed me.

I chuckled lightly and grabbed the nearest towel and wrapped it around my hips so my bare legs wouldn't be on show; I really, really didn't want that.

Chloe and I walked out of the beach house and we could immediately spot where the rest of the group were swimming - well, they were basically swimming parallel to the cabin. It wasn't a long walk to reach where Cam was admiring Chris swim along in the sea. All three guys were shirtless and were wearing board shorts that came to just above their knee. I felt a pang of worry coarse through me as I watched them distance themselves even further and tackle all the waves.

I sat on the towel next to Cam and watched Nate flex his muscly arms as he rotated them in perfect synchronisation, allowing him to duck under the waves. Once he passed one of the strong waves, I felt relieved that he hadn't drowned just yet. He turned around, wanted to say something to Chris but as soon as his eyes spotted me, his lips curved into a small smirk and he winked at me. His wink matched the strong beat of my heart. I didn't know why, but my body seemed to be reacting weirdly around him. Yeah, I knew I had strong feelings for him but I didn't know that my body would also react to those feelings.

He waved at me in greeting, and I couldn't help but allow the small blush spread across my face. I smiled in return and waved at him too.

"Are you coming down?" He yelled, clearly directing his question at me.

I shook my head quickly, letting him know that I was going to plant my ass firmly on the sand. He frowned disapprovingly and started swimming closer to the shore.

"Do you like him?" Cam asked, smiling secretly at me.

Considering how close I was with Cam, and how much I treated her like a sister, I couldn't deny it. It just felt wrong.

"Yep." I murmured a reply.

"He likes you too, you know." She replied.

"I doubt it." I muttered, feeling slightly annoyed that Nate really didn't have feelings for me.

Before Cam could say anything, Nate had reached us and he towered over me. I felt my eyes trail his strong stomach, his chest and the little water droplets that were trickling down. He was literally flawless.

"Eyes up here, beautiful." Nate smirked.

I felt my entire face heat up with him catching me and I avoided eye contact.

"Why won't you come swim?" His brows knitted together in confusion.

Before I could say anything, Cam answered for me.

"She is going to swim; she just needs someone to stay with her because she isn't a strong swimmer."

My eyes went wide and I turned to a smirking Cam who looked like she was really trying to stifle a giggle.

"Is that so? Well, Rose, you're lucky that I don't intend on making you drown so you can come." He grinned.

I stared up into is brown eyes and weighed the pros and cons. The only con was the fact that my bare legs would be on show. I grimaced, not wanting to feel so revealed if I had to get up.

"Hey, stupid, hurry up. Stand up." Nate snapped.

I inhaled deeply and after contemplating once more, I decided to stand up, however I kept the towel firmly wrapped around me. Nate slung his arm loosely over my shoulders, sending tingles all over my body. Once we reached the start of the small crashing waves, Nate gazed at me with a smug expression.

"What?" I asked, feeling self-conscious.

"You do realise you're going to have to lost the towel sooner or later, right?" His eyes were gleaming in amusement as I began to blush.

"Well, Nate, you see the reason as to why I have decided to ke-" My explanation was interrupted when Nate suddenly ripped the towel from around my waist and threw it behind him onto the sand bank.

I squealed loudly and found myself looking around helplessly. My legs were officially on show.

"Wow." Nate whistled. "You look good. Don't be such a wimp. If you can't show your legs around me then how are you ever going to be naked in front of me?"

My cheeks burnt as my eyes impossibly widened even more. My mouth was left agape and I struggled to say something cohesively.

"Yes?" Nate put his hand to his ear, waiting for me to say something as he smirked in amusement.

"Naked?" I gulped; my eyes still wide.

Nate chuckled loudly and pulled his arm around my shoulders again.

"Relax, I was joking." He chortled. "You are way too innocent. Now, shut up and get in the water."

I didn't know how my cheek colour was ever going to die down but nevertheless, I slowly made my way into the water, not feeling very phased when the water hit me. Nate steadied me by keeping his hand firmly wrapped around my waist as I kept on walking in the water.

Once the water had reached my waist, Nate stopped walking and turned around, blocking me from continuing to go anywhere.

"Stop here." He answered my thoughts. "Since you're so stupid that you can't swim, we'll stay in a place where I can't lose you."

Even though Nate had technically insulted me, I still found myself smiling at the 'where I can't lose you' part of this comment.

"Alright." I nodded, looking around at the waves that were crashing Chris and Asher who were way ahead of us.

"So, I'm quite surprised you know. Most girls would be screaming at the top of their lungs from the cold water but you were fine." Nate said, looking down to meet my eyes.

I tried avoiding his gaze but his scrutiny was so strong that I couldn't make myself turn away.

"Right." I muttered, not wanting to get into the conversation.

"Is there a story behind it or something?" He asked.

"Nope, not a story." I replied.

"So..." Nate pestered.

I felt as if he wasn't going to let the conversation go until I told him. Well, it wasn't really any story at all, it was just something that I had been sacrificing my whole life - wasn't really a big deal.

"It's nothing really." I breathed. "Since there is only a limited amount of hot water, I can't afford to pay for extra so I always have cold showers so that the hot water doesn't run out on my brothers."

Nate stared at me for a while, not saying anything, his expression unreadable. What was wrong with what I said? I started to become worried when Nate didn't say anything. I had to say something else, right? What if he never understood the extent of my poverty and now that I told him this, he wouldn't want anything to do with me.

Finally, after experiencing a mini hyperventilation in my head, the corners of Nate's lips curled up in a small smile. His eyes held amusement and he looked like he was fighting a laugh.

"Why do you look like you're about to hyperventilate?" He chuckled, feeling amused at my expression.

I probably looked like a freak right now or something.

"Nothing." I muttered, letting my eyes fall to the bottom of the ocean where my feet were sinking into the sand.

"Really, you looked so worried." He laughed. "Anyway, I appreciate you telling me that and it makes you admirable just that much more. If you ever need a shower, feel free to come over my place."

I smiled up at him and resisted the urge to hug him.

"Thank you Nate, I really appre-"

"And maybe I could join you in the shower, too. Save water and shit." He winked.

Way to ruin the moment, I thought dryly. Unsurprisingly, my face flamed up and I let my face drop down, letting my hair act as a curtain.

Before I knew it, Nate had lifted up my chin and pulled all my hair behind my shoulders.

"Tie it up." He said, suddenly seeming distracted.

"Why?" I asked in confusion.

He slung his arm over my shoulders again and started walking.

"We're going to body surf."

**

"The next one, Rose!" Nate yelled even though we were so close, our shoulders were touching.

Asher and Chris had eventually gone back with the girls to the beach house while Nate spent an hour on teaching me how to body surf. And let me tell you, when I finally perfected it, it was amazing. The adrenaline rush I felt when the wave was coming and then riding on top of it was amazing.

Nate and I had been body surfing for about an hour now and I hadn't gotten tired of it not once.

I sucked in a deep breath and yelled out a confirmation to Nate letting him know that I understood.

We both witnessed a huge wave building up a distance away.

"When I say, we'll start swimming, okay?" He yelled out, looking at me.

I nodded quickly, and pulled away my tied up hair.

I saw the wave continuing to build up and an excited rush coursed through me. This had to be the biggest wave of them all.

"Ready... And Go!" Nate yelled.

We both simultaneously turned around and stroked our arms quickly, allowing ourselves to go underwater. I felt the wave build up at my feet and the loud rushing sound of the water exploded in my ears as I continued to swim faster. I knew the feeling by now and so I identified the wave being really close. As expected, I was suddenly lifted up from the water as I tilted my head to the side and kept one arm out as I allowed the wave to carry me on top and pull me through back to the shore. Nate and I had both landed next to each other on the shallow part of the water as we chuckled.

We both stood up from our spots, wobbling a little and grinning at each other like maniacs.

A breeze passed us and I shivered a little from my spot, hugging myself.

"You cold?" Nate asked.

"Not too much." I replied, wanting to get back to body surfing.

"Your lips are blue, Rose, you're shivering." He chuckled.

"I don't care, I want to body surf!" I complained like a whiny child.

Nate smirked at me as he walked over.

"I promise to take you to the beach again. But now, we have to get you inside so you can shower. I don't want you to get hyperthermia when you're supposed to cook for me."

It was getting around sunset and the neutral coloured lines on the horizon were absolutely stunning and so I figured it'd be time for dinner. And then suddenly, I caught onto what Nate had said.

"Wait, cook for you? What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"I mean exactly what I mean." He grinned. "I'm not bothered cooking and quite frankly, you're food tastes amazing so, you're going to make me food."

There weren't any 'Rose can you please make me dinner' or any 'I would really appreciate it if you could cook me...' Nope. None of that. It was a blank and brief demand of 'you're going to make me food'.

"Who said I was going to make you anything?" I argued as Nate and I walked towards the towels.

"And who said I asked for your permission? You're cooking for me whether you like it or not."

Feeling slightly offended, I picked up the towel that Nate had thrown a few hours ago, and wrapped it around my shoulders tightly.

Nate and I walked in silence back to the beach house and when we walked in, we found Chloe and Asher sitting on opposite sides of the lounge room, making it completely obvious that they were mad at each other. Cam and Chris were sitting next to each other, watching TV normally.

No one had even started cooking dinner. What time were we supposed to eat?

"Um, guys," I began slowly. "What time are we going to eat?"

All four of them turned around with guilty-stricken expressions.

"Sorry, Rose, but Nate said that you had volunteered yourself to cook for us." I knew Chris way too well to know that he was fighting a smirk.

I huffed loudly and stormed off into the direction of the bedroom. I have been swimming for hours and all that exercise made me extraordinarily hungry and now I find that everyone is expecting me to cook?!

I hopped into the shower and blasted on the hot water, feeling a warm sensation bubble through me. I finished my shower quickly, wanting to start on the food as soon as possible. When I stepped out of the shower, I walked into the bedroom to find that the clothes I had laid out earlier were gone and instead was replaced by another outfit.

On my bed was a beautiful white beach dress that would probably reach just above the knee. The dress had thin straps that connected to a sweetheart neckline. I pulled on my strapless bra and panties and tried the dress on. It fitted really well and like predicted; it came just above the knee. The chest area was tight and it flowed down easily like a beach dress would. Along with that was a light coloured denim jacket with three quarter length sleeves. I pulled the jacket on and to my surprise, it fit well.

There was a soft knock on my door and when I allowed entrance, Chloe came walking in with a soft smile.

"I knew it'd look good on you." She grinned.

"Did you get this for me?" I asked.

"Yep, I bought it a few weeks ago and since it's a beach dress, I thought it'd be appropriate if I gave it to you here."

"Well, thanks." I smiled and fought the urge to hug her. That would just make the situation incredibly cheesy.

Chloe pulled out a big, peached flower hair clip and pulled a bit of my hair back with the clip as she let the rest of my thick, wavy hair down.

"There, now that completes the whole outfit. Now that you're looking pretty you can go cook for us." She grinned.

My mood automatically drooped down to a low as I glared at her.

"Whatever." I muttered and walked passed her and into the kitchen.

**

The ringing sound of the oven finally went off and I pulled on an oven mitt to take out the whole chicken and roast potatoes I had made. Thankfully, this kitchen was well equipped and very modern so cooking food didn't take too long. However, not one person had come into the kitchen to offer help or to even keep me company. Nope, they all ditched me.

I quickly mixed the salad and set up the butter-toasted bread and laid them all on the dining room table. Feeling pleased with my achievements, I made my way over to the lounge room where the gang were silently watching TV.

"Food's ready." I announced happily, satisfied that I could finally start eating.

They all turned around and their expressions were all screaming out 'I'm starving'. Everyone stood up and ran to the kitchen except for Nate who was grinning at me.

"You look really pretty." He said with a sly smirk.

My face heated up as I smiled softly.

"Thank you." I replied, suddenly feeling shy.

Nate walked over to me and intertwined our fingers together. I felt shots of tingles - like electricity shots - go through me at his touch and I looked up at him to see him smiling softly at me. That damn smile that could make my heart melt within seconds.

"Let's go eat." He murmured.

I nodded silently, unable to form any words. We walked into the dining room and sat next to each other. Asher had already begun to eat which I kind of found rude.

Suddenly, I heard Asher yelp in paid as Nate slapped him on the back of his head.

"What the f*ck was that for?!" Asher groaned.

"Have some f*cking respect and at least wait for Rose to eat first. She didn't spend her f*cking time in the kitchen for you to be rude to her." Nate growled.

I really did try to mask my shock but it felt impossible. Nate was actually standing up for me.

"Sorry." Asher murmured towards me, his cheeks turning the slightest pink.

"Um, it's okay." I murmured.

Everyone watched as I filled my plate up with salad, a small piece of chicken and a few roasted potatoes. I took a small bite of the salad first, feeling embarrassed and as soon as I swallowed, it was everyone else's cue to dig in. I smiled as everyone praised me on the delicious food I made. I actually felt quite proud.

***

After we had finished eating, because I had cooked, Asher and Chris were on cleaning duty. Basically, Nate refused to clean. Once the boys were done, we all gathered around the large TV and watched a movie. By the time the movie was finished, everyone was tired and had announced they were going to bed. Cam and Chris were sharing a bedroom, Asher and Nate were sharing another room and Chloe and I were sharing one.

Seeing as I was rooming with Chloe, once we went into our room, I didn't feel embarrassed to change into my pyjama short-shorts and short tank top. Basically, it was a really humid night.

I made a quick phone call to Adam who let me talk to my boys. Once the conversation was over, I hung up and snuggled into bed as I waited for Chloe to finish a snack.

I flicked through my phone (it still felt weird calling it that) until I heard the soft sound of my door opening and closing.

"Rose?" Came Chloe's soft voice. "Can I ask for a huge favour?"

"Sure, what's up?" I asked, sitting up.

"Can you room with Nate? Asher and I sort of made up and we have a lot of things to talk about." She smiled off in a daze.

Asher and her made up? I thought she liked Adam...

"Um..."

"Please Rose! I know what you're thinking and yes, I do still like Adam but the thing is, I doubt he likes me. Plus, he's four years older, I don't think anything will ever happen. And I love Asher and I just want things to work out. Please."

Her pleading tone really hit home for me and after sighing deeply, I stood up from out of bed and nodded.

"I'll go room with Nate." I felt excited at the thought. "And you and Asher can work things out." I told her.

She smiled happily before muttering a quick thank you. I grabbed my phone and walked over to Nate's room, as I opened the door slowly.

"Nate?" I called.

"In here." I heard him reply. "I heard you're my new roommate."

I smiled at him and nodded.

"Well, you heard right." I replied.

I found him laying down in bed and when our eyes connected, I felt his eyes wonder off and roam along my body. Nate was wearing a tight white singlet and shorts. His body looked absolutely perfect. I looked back at him and realised he was still watching me. Shit! I forgot I was wearing short-shorts and small shirt. In order to get his gaze off of me, I quickly ran into bed and covered myself under the blankets, completely forgetting that I was in the same bed as Nate.

I heard Nate chuckle loudly and his laugh vibrated through the mattress.

"Relax, you look beautiful." He laughed.

Instead of feeling flattered, I suddenly felt frustrated. Was Nate playing with my feelings or something? Didn't he realise that every time he said something like that, my body goes into frenzy? That I stayed up night after night just thinking about him?!

"Why do you do that?" I suddenly exclaimed.

"Do what?" Nate asked in confusion.

"Keep complimenting me!" I replied a little louder than usual.

And his reply was anything but what I had expected.

"Because I like you." He replied quickly, not processing any thought.

"What?" I asked dumbly, refusing to believe that he meant it in the romantic way.

"I like you." Nate emphasised each word carefully.

I felt my eyes prickle with tears and I silently cursed myself.

"Ha?" My mind wasn't comprehending.

Nate rolled his eyes which held amusement.

"Rose, I like you. I have feelings for you. I have a crush on you. I want to court you, date you, whatever. I want you to be my girlfriend. I -"

"Stop." I interrupted him in a soft whisper.

One tear leaked out from my right eye which made me realise it was a happy tear. Well, of course it was a happy tear. Nate just confessed that he liked me. Nate liked me... me. I couldn't say it enough times over in my head. I felt like bursting with excitement and dancing to something happy however that would be creepy considering the source to my happiness was basically in the same bed as me, staring.

I inhaled a deep breath and shut my eyes tightly as I let another tear leak out.

"Rose?" Nate began slowly, his tone displaying concern.

"Do you mean it?" I asked softly.

"Of course I mean it. Why the f*ck would I lie about something like that?" He replied as he smiled.

I laughed and ran my fingers over my hair.

"Um, how long?" I asked softly.

"I don't know. I guess it's always been there but I never really accepted it until a few weeks ago." He shrugged.

I couldn't believe that Nate would actually freely admit that he liked me. It was frustrating how he seemed like he didn't have a care in the World. Suddenly, feeling angry, I slapped Nate across his chest.

"What the hell was that for?" He laughed.

He actually laughed. Didn't he ever take anything seriously? He just told me that he had feelings for me and he's laughing.

"You're too... blunt!" I yelled in exasperation, feeling my cheeks burn red.

Nate squirmed closer to me until his muscly arms found my waist and wrapped them in a tight embrace.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked, his breath tingling my skin.

Our proximity was so close that I felt like I could be out of breath soon. My whole body felt like it was on fire as I shut my eyes tightly.

"No." I replied softly.

"Rose?" His muffled voice came.

"Yeah?"

"I promise you, I really do like you. I wouldn't ever hurt you. You're just... you're everything good in this World. And you're so strong."

And that's when I started to cry. Not just ordinary crying - no. I had to ruin the moment with tears everywhere while I practically wailed. I was kind of mad at myself too. How could I ruin such a perfect moment by crying? Nate held me in his arms where I felt protected. I felt safe.

"Are you done now?" Nate laughed, rubbing away the last tear with his thumb.

"How could you talk like that and expect me not to react that way?" I argued.

Nate hushed me and pressed his lips to my forehead. The electric shots were back.

"Do you want to sleep? We can talk about this tomorrow if you want?" Nate asked, pulling me even closer to him.

I nodded as I felt my eyelids start to droop at the sweet sound of hearing the word sleep.

"Wait, Nate. Before I sleep, I just want to say that-"

"You like me too?" He smirked.

How the hell did he know I was going to say that?

"Um... Yeah." Came my genius reply.

Nate laughed and kissed my forehead again.

"Don't worry, I knew you liked me anyway. It was so obvious." Before I could argue, Nate pressed his finger against my lips and hushed me.

"You can yell at me tomorrow, Rose. Right now, we should get some sleep. Unless you want to have sex, you know I'm always up for that." Even though the lights were turned off, I knew he was smirking just as I knew that my whole face was on fire.

"S-shut up!" I yelled in embarrassment.

Nate chuckled at my mortification and adjusted both our bodies to be in sleeping position.

"Goodnight beautiful."

And I barely muffled back a goodnight before I drifted off into a contented sleep.

***

I woke up to the ridiculous sound of my phone ringing. I glanced at the time and saw it was only three in the morning. Whoever was calling me better have a good reason.

"Rose, answer the f*cking phone." Nate grumbled, freeing me from our embrace.

I picked up my phone and without checking caller I.D, I answered.

"Hello?" I yawned.

"Rose! Oh God! Rose you have to come back now! It's horrible... Come quick. Rose!" I heard Adam yell on the line.

I automatically knew it was serious because of his tone. I had a horrible feeling in the deep pit of my stomach. Something was wrong.

"Adam?"

"Rose, I'm so sorry. A window must have been open or something. Everything is gone. Rose, someone broke into your apartment. They took everything. Even your jar of money. Everything is gone, Rose." Adam 's tone was panicking.

I felt my eyes moisten and I pressed a few fingers to my nose. All I could hear was 'Everything is gone, Rose.'

Everything.

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Authors Note:

Body surfing is awesome XD has anyone ever been body surfing?

OHH and not sure it that's a cliffhanger or not but yeah :p

Vote, comment and fan.

Farewell xx